Shuffling part 6

It's been over a year since I did one of these things. In fact, it's been over a year since I've posted anything to the blog section or even checked it. Do people even look here anymore. I see a few recent posts in the blog section, but nothing frequent.

Anyway, I had a little time at work today while I was backing up the network, so I thought I'd do a bit of shuffling. So away we go:

"Blue Jay Way" - Beatles
I've always thought of this song as one of George's Indian songs, but without Indian instruments. It just has that meditative feel to it. I often overlook this song. It is not one I think of wanting to listen to, and I certainly wouldn't name it when thinking of George's great songs, but once it's on, I do find myself enjoying it. It makes me feel as if I'm floating through the music.

"Lip Service" - Elvis Costello
A nice little ditty from "This Year's Model." In many ways, Elvis was a throwback to the early 60s sound of those like the Beatles.

"Give Me Your Love (Love Song)" - Curtis Mayfield
From the "Superfly" album, which is a great album. This is one of the more laid back tracks from the album, but it still has a groove to it. It brings to mind images of bellbottoms and roller skates. Awesome.

"I Am The Walrus" - Beatles
This is the version from Anthology without the extra layering of the strings. I usually list this as my favorite Beatles song ever, but I have to admit that this early take is rather plodding and a bit monotonous. It is amazing how George Martin's orchestration and odd radio sound effects worked to turn such a song into an absolute masterpiece.

"Anoko-ha Abunaiyo" - Mayumi Kojima
Mayumi is a Japanese jazz and swing singer. I really like her uptempo, swinging songs. Unfortunately, this is not one of them. This one is just kind of slow and "eh." Hold the phone! The first half was slow and "eh," but it just picked up, with a bit of a Latin flair. Still not as lively as she can be, but enjoyable. The second half is sung in the jazz lingua franca: da da das.

"Winter Song" - Buffalo Daughter
Buffalo Daughter is a Shibuya-kei band from the 90s in Japan. Shibuya-kei is an interesting style of music named for the Shibuya district of Tokyo that took a lot of 60s and 70s influences along with French Ye-Ye, Bossa Nova, and electronica. The result can range from what my wife calls "Japanese Austin Powers music" to Techno to strange experimental stuff. This particular song falls within the strange experimental end of the spectrum. I much prefer the "Austin Powers" stuff. For a good Western equivalent of Shibuya-kei, think Beck.

"Mind Games (Make Love, Not War)" - John Lennon
A demo of a portion of the song from the Lennon Anthology. Okay, but I'm left wanting for the finished product.

"And I Love Her (Take 11)" - Beatles
A flubbed take. All 12 seconds of it. I've really got to get around to tagging things like this to skip when shuffling...

"Love My Way" - Psychedelic Furs
This takes me back to my dorm room at the University of Delaware in 1985-86. I listened to a lot of Psychedelic Furs that year along with INXS, Split Enz, early U2. That was 24 years ago. Holy crap, I'm old.

"Stroker Ace" - Ween
Their heavy metal song from the "White Pepper" album, which is actually filled with several pop gems. These guys can be overly crude sometimes, but they can pop out some greatly crafted songs.

"Electric Bird" - Sia
We're all over the place now! This is some very nice down-tempo stuff with a bit of a folky feel. I was first introduced to Sia through her involvement with the band Zero 7. If you like Adele, Duffy, or Jem, you'll probably like Sia also. I remember this CD was being pushed at Starbucks the same time they were pushing Paul's "Memory Almost Full" album.

"Sabari" - Baba Djan
African music from Mali off of the "Mali to Memphis" Putumayo collection. This CD shows a lot of the West African roots of American blues and the incorporation of more developed blues back into Africa. This song is a nice acoustic number, more African than bluesy to my ears.

"Harry's Song" - Ringo Starr
From everyone's favorite album "Liverpool 8." I think I've listened to this album maybe twice. The chorus of this song strangely reminds me of a song by Madness, but I can't for the life of me think which one. I'll have to put on some Madness later or this may bug me for a while. (The whistling at the end reminds me of Kermit the Frog.)

"Last Dance" - Base Ball Bear
A Japanese band that I would classify as more typical alternative. That sounds weird. How can you be alternative and typical at the same time? I remember when "alternative music" meant that it was different than mainstream sounds. Now it's just so tired and mainstream. Not very alternative now, is it? But I digress...

"Strange Chameleon" - Mr. Children
This is off of a Pillows tribute album (several Japanese bands covering great songs by another Japanese band). Mr. Children are fine, but I much much much prefer the original Pillows version. To me, Mr. Children would sound like any American band if they weren't singing in Japanese. The Pillows on the other hand take Engish and American 60s through 80s cues and put them together in a much more unique style.

"L'Histoire du Zouk" - Kali
French Caribbean music. When many people think of Caribbean music all they think of is Reggae, but most of it is closer to Latin musical styles. This one is probably closest to Afro-Brazilian, but a bit brighter sounding.

"Last Love Song" - Superfly
A Japanese band (actually it was a duo who have since split, but the lead singer still uses the band name although it's just her) that is a late 60s/early 70s throwback. The singer, Shiho Ochi, has such a powerful voice. This song is a nice ballad, very Joan Baez-like.

"I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama" - John Lennon
An actual finished studio version of John for a change while shuffling. Usually all I get are demos from the Anthology collection for some reason. The parts that I think really make this song are the slide guitar (I don't remember, is that George? sure sounds like his guitar) and the crazy horns during the vocal breaks. They are what change this song from one of the stark, gritty tracks like on "Plastic Ono Band" to a more refined sound typical of "Imagine."

"Poltergeist" - Shiina Ringo
An incredible song off of Shiina Ringo's masterpiece "Kalk Zamen Kuri no Hana." I can't help but think the caliope in the song was influenced by Sgt. Pepper. This is such a beautiful flighty number. This album is really one that needs to be taken as a whole, because the songs just flow into each other and the transitions almost become the highlight. Maybe that's my sign to stop shuffling for now.